Dunedin adopts updated multimodal transportation plan with streetscape standards and e-bike safety measures

The Dunedin City Commission voted unanimously on Dec. 4 to adopt Resolution 25-32, updating the city's multimodal transportation master plan with new design guidance and implementation steps.

Staff from community development and consultant Kimley-Horn presented the update, which combines the 2011 pedestrian and bicycle master plan with the 2021 multimodal plan and adds a new streetscape design standards chapter. Project manager Cathy Gadamer described the city’s asset—“the Pinellas Trail is one of the biggest assets the city of Dunedin has and attracts not only residents,”—and said the update responds to changing trends in travel and safety data. The plan includes six street types with recommended sidewalk widths, bike facilities, landscaping, lane configurations and targeted speeds, intended as a guide for future projects and a template for land-development-code amendments.

Consultants highlighted e-bike safety as a priority and proposed a three-pronged approach of education, enforcement and engineering; they also added downtown bypass routes to give bicyclists alternatives during events that congest the Pinellas Trail. Commissioner Walker and others pressed staff on how the city will measure success; the consultant said the plan recommends a multimodal dashboard—tracking crash counts, miles of sidewalk, and other metrics—and staff said the city’s strategic plan and forthcoming dashboard reporting will be used to monitor progress.

Commissioners praised the plan's comprehensiveness and urged rapid integration of the new streetscape standards into land-development review and the CIP so recommendations do not remain advisory. The commission adopted the resolution unanimously and directed staff to return with steps and timelines for code integration and implementation funding.